Stone Circle cross my heart and hope to die

It seemed that her happy ideals had come crashing down around her, her growing happiness at the coming spring tarnished. First had come her attack by the male with the head, and then, not even hours later, the healer girl had died. That blow was shocking; while Poppy had not known the girl well, to meet her and have her die so soon was appalling. Some sadness had taken root in her heart, settling low in her chest, and she could not rid herself of the feeling.  

She'd remained holed up in the den for the past few days, but sadness and something that felt like sickness had crept over her like mold, and finally, she'd slipped from the den that morning. In an attempt to rid herself of the feeling, she set to grooming her pelt carefully, made slow by the cracking scabs around her neck and her still-sore tongue, before slipping off to look at the herds she'd promised Valette to keep watch over, stomach turning over and mind heavy.

Steph had been wandering a bit, getting cooped up at staying near the den. She usually didn't go far, as her muscles seemed to get tired from the effort of not moving in such a way as to upset her broken rib. Her side seemed to stay tensed all the time, unless she was laying down. Today, she tried to ignore it as much as possible.

She wandered a little aimlessly, and came upon Poppy's scent. It smelled strong, so she must not be that far away. Usually, she would just run to catch up, but running was not an option. So, instead, she barked. Poppy! She paused, her ears perked, wondering if Poppy would respond. Their encounters until this point hadn't been very pleasant, but Steph's view on the dog had changed since her and Murdock had spoken. But, would Poppy bother to give the pup another chance?

The shrill sound of her name had her pause as she neared the herds, twisting her head back instinctively to find the source of the sound and suppressing a yelp as her scabs cracked and oozed. Instead, an odd strangled sound escaped her muzzle, and she straightened out her neck and turned her whole body around to discover the source of the sound. She recognized the voice before her gaze even fell on the svelte dark form of Steph, and her tail wagged tiredly as a small smile curved her muzzle, though tired. 

 "hi, Steph," She began, able to pull cheeriness out of the darkness in her chest. "how are you?"  She ventured next, wondering how she fared after the death of the healer; and realizing then that the must have been sisters. For wasn't the healer Valette's daughter too? Chesnut gaze swept the girl as she held her neck rigidly, at least a little glad the girl had greeted her seemingly happily.

A odd noise reached her ears, and her head cocked to the side, trying to figure out what it was. An instant later, when Poppy came into view, the noise was forgotten. Steph's tail wagged as she closed the distance between them. Poppy didn't seem to harbor any hard feelings toward the pup, at least none that she could detect. 

I'm doing okay, she responded. How are you? She wasn't aware of Poppy's injuries. She hadn't exactly kept up with what most of the pack was doing since she had to stick near the den.

She didn't seem too upset over her sister's death; which she supposed was better than the alternative. She was a touch relieved; and a quick glance over the girl proved that her injuries seemed to be on the mend, too. "I'm alright,"  A dip of her muzzle accompanied this as she moved to hide the stiffness with which she held her neck.

 "I was going to check on the herds - would you like to come with me?" The offer was made after a moment of thought, and Poppy prepared to be rejected; she didn't know how far the girl was up to walking, nor if she'd even want to. Their last meeting had not gone well, exactly, though the woman hoped dearly that the girl's hard feelings towards her had faded.

Her tail continued to wag as Poppy spoke, though her face fell a little when she mentioned going to check on the herds. I don't know if Mama would want me going near the herds, she said hesitantly. But, she still did want to hang out with Poppy. But, maybe if we don't go too close? she questioned, her voice hopeful.

"Too close" would be any distance Steph couldn't escape. Seeing as how she couldn't run at the moment, she would need to stay quite a ways away. She certainly didn't want to encour the wrath of her mother, either. Valette might have her hyde for even thinking about going towards the herds.